To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many on-site nurseries are operating in NHS establishments; how many have closed since the scheme started; and how many are expected to open this year as part of the NHS child care strategy. [100501]
A national baseline survey of national health service child care provision, undertaken early in 2001, found that 114 NHS trusts provided some form of nursery facilities for their staff. The NHS child care strategy has provided central funding over three years to develop up to 150 on-site nursery facilities by 2004. In the first two years of the strategy, 120 nursery schemes, including both new and extensions to existing nurseries have been funded. Of these, we estimate that around 30 have already opened and that a further 40 will be open by December 2003. The rest will open from January 2004 onwards. We intend to do a further survey of NHS child care provision in 2004.